December was full of wide releases, from family-friendly films like Annie to darker fantasies like The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies—but in the first weekend of the new year, there’s only one huge release: The Woman in Black 2, the sequel to 2012’s horror starring Daniel Radcliffe, is opening in about 2,600 locations.

The first Woman in Black made $20.8 million its debut weekend in February 2012—much more than expected—and it went on to make $54.3 million total in the U.S. While these numbers could indicate the film’s sequel will have a similarly successful debut weekend, the movie also has some factors working a...